Hulk
by Howlitzer
Summary: Well, he warned you. [P3S]
a/n: Sometimes I don't know where the hell I'm going.

* * *

"Why don't you get on outta here? You've won already..."

Rouge meant to say something to her partners, but knew it would do her no good. She stood at the opposite end of the platform, hovering high over Grand Metropolis and its connection of winding pathways.

"You have proven to be a sustained nuisance in our mission to find Doctor Eggman. You must be terminated at once," Omega droned.

Shadow remained silent and pulled his gloves tighter over his hands.

Vector stood on his feet ahead of them, in front of his two comrades. Espio held his broken arm while resting on one knee, while Charmy mumbled to himself on the ground, barely conscious. The crocodile was dotted with bruises and wounds.

He seemed like he had enough for one day.

"You got your pound o' flesh already. We ain't none of your business."

"You're going to keep getting in our way. It's not enough that you stand aside," Shadow said menacingly.

"You heartless monsters..."

"Boys...we have what we came for. Let's just leave them be," Rouge called out, casual as always. "The fight's over."

"Negative. All obstructions to our goal must be terminated." Omega transformed his arms.

"Both of you need to stop-"

They charged towards the crocodile at the same time. He stepped forward to meet them, taking a spinning ball of quills to the face before eating a laser burst from the large robot. He slid back towards Espio who was standing near Charmy, but stood tall and remained on his feet.

"Resilient...but not invincible!"

Shadow's right hand crackled with energy.

"Stop it!" Rouge called out in vain.

" **Chaos Spear!** "

"You ain't gonna stop, are ya..." Vector closed his eyes as Shadow's attack came for him. He braced himself and opened his jaws before slamming them shut on the crackling arrow of light. Smoke streamed from his mouth as Team Dark looked on in awe, and finally he snapped his mouth shut completely, sending the energy into the air around him before it fizzled out.

"Is this what you wanted...?" His voice was clear, reverberating in the space nearby.

She could see it, faintly.

His eyes had changed.

Omega swiftly charged forward and peppered him with gunfire. Vector charged back, the bullets bouncing off of his hide as he landed a spear tackle on the robot, slamming him into the metal floor. Shadow spun in a wide circle and tossed both of them into the air, a black tornado whirling around their forms. Vector puffed up his chest before belching out a stream of flames, forcing Shadow to abandon his attack as it ignited. He slid to a stop, smoke rising from his fur as Vector landed and charged again.

He pulled a fist back and slammed it into the spot where Shadow once stood, denting the platform inwards. Omega came across and slugged him in the face, only for him to spin around and strike the robot right back. He then spun around and laid Shadow out with a haymaker as he came from behind, sending the black hedgehog tumbling along the platform.

She looked on, feeling more fascinated than terrified at the beating her comrades were taking. Her eyes flickered to the still delirious bee and the injured chameleon, the latter looking on calmly as if this were nothing new. But it had to be, she thought. It couldn't be normal.

He took another punch from Omega's iron knuckles, and bits of blood spattered to the deck.

She could see him...with each blow. Getting bigger. It seemed like an illusion, but no...he wasn't stopping or slowing down.

He was gaining momentum.

He was getting _stronger_.

"You guys need to stop...you need to stop," she said weakly, almost fearfully. "He's not going down..."

Shadow roared and charged another Chaos Spear in his hand. Vector tossed Omega over his shoulder onto the deck and took a deep breath in.

"You trash! **Stay down!"**

Shadow fired his attack and Vector responded by breathing out a massive orb of flames. The Chaos Spear exploded against it, but the fireball kept going, kept growing.

He growled and started his countermeasures, but-

"Damn you both! **Move!** "

Rouge sped in and landed, planting her feet on the ground. She set herself up in a matter of seconds, and then stepped up with her back foot before launching a side kick with all of the might she could muster. The fireball hit the sole of her boot and burst out around it, throwing her to the deck on her behind and sending Shadow rolling towards the platform edge. He stopped himself in time, the heat streaming over his body.

"Shit! That was too close!" Rouge yelled as she started to sweat.

"..."

"We're not doing this any longer!" She ran past the crocodile who had smoke streaming through his teeth, pulling the sparking Omega along with Shadow into the air before dropping out of view a moment later.

They were suddenly gone.

Vector promptly fell over onto the deck, his gold chain rattling.

"..."

"Wha...? What happened? Did we win?" Charmy asked as he slowly regained his bearings.

"Not exactly," Espio replied stoically.

"Aw...h-hey, what happened to Vec?"

They both were silent for a moment, looking at their leader on the ground. "As you know, he is the boss of our agency. He was simply...taking care of business." The chameleon quickly looked at his surroundings. "We will rest here a while. Even though we are on a time limit, we cannot go on as we are."

"I guess..." Charmy yawned and promptly went to sleep.

Espio sat back and looked at the horizon.

* * *

"Subject's output far exceeded established parameters."

Omega popped his arm back into its socket. It whirred as he tested its functionality.

"No shit. You think?"

"Results of recent battle are outside the bounds of realistic expectations," the robot stated.

Rouge huffed and looked ahead to the outlines of the power plant. "You've still got a lot to learn, it seems. People...can do the impossible for those they care about. Doesn't matter if it's logical or not."

"Phenomenon will require further investigation."

"Yeah, I'll bet. You can research on the run...we've gotta get moving. And for the love of all that is good, do _not_ kick any more enemies when they're down. That goes for both of you dumbasses."

"Affirmative."

"..."

Shadow said nothing as he looked at his comrade's left foot.

The boot was burned black at the bottom.

She nonchalantly hovered into the air, turning to face him. After a few moments, she gave him a tender smile.

"You okay, hon?"

"...there's no time to waste. Let's get moving." He clenched a fist and skated forward, his two teammates hovering behind him.


End file.
